Christian Tago

The Eagles have placed rookie cornerback Sidney Jones on the reserve/NFI list, per a team announcement. Consequently, Jones won’t be eligible to practice or play during the first six weeks of the season.

Although Jones suffered a torn Achilles during his pro day in March, the Eagles still used a second-round pick on the former Washington standout. Jones looked like a first-rounder in the making after a stellar three-year Huskies career that saw him intercept eight passes. When the Eagles signed Jones, they inserted language in his contract that will pay him his full 2017 base salary even if he spends the season on the NFI list.

Along with the Jones transaction, the Eagles announced that they’ve waived 14 players to bring their roster to 70:

The Eagles have released cornerback Ron Brooks, the club announced today. In related moves, Philadelphia has signed linebackers Carlos Fields and Christian Tago and waived cornerback Mitchell White.

Brooks, 28, followed defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz from Buffalo to Philadelphia prior to the 2016 campaign, inking a three-year deal with the Eagles. Hampered by a quadriceps injury, Brooks only appeared in six total games before being placed on injured reserve. In that limited sample size (235 defensive snaps), Brooks earned poor marks from Pro Football Focus, which assigned him a 40.9 grade.

Brooks had already agreed to a pay cut earlier this year that slashed his 2017 base salary from $1.85MM to $1MM and changed his 2018 season into an option year. Instead, the Eagles will now pick up $1MM in 2017 cap space and incur $250K in dead money. Another $250K dead cap charge will appear on Philadelphia’s books in 2018.

The Eagles have made several trades to acquire cornerback depth this offseason, picking up Ronald Darby from the Bills and Dexter McDougle from the Jets, but the unit is still relatively thin overall. Darby projects as a starter alongside Jalen Mills, while free agent signing Patrick Robinson now appears to have won Philadelphia’s nickel corner job, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. Second-round rookie Sidney Jones is also on the roster but may get a late start as he recovers from a torn Achilles, while other Eagles corners include rookie Rasul Douglas, Aaron Grymes, and C.J. Smith.